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A national flag raising ceremony to officially welcome Vietnam's first two submarines to the Navy Force will be held in Cam Ranh Port in central Vietnam on Tuesday Apr. 3.

The final rehearsal was held in Cam Ranh on Monday.

The Kilo-class vessels were built in Russia under a contract to built a total of six submarines for Vietnam.

The HQ 182 Hanoi, the first of the six subs, arrived at the Cam Ranh Bay on December 31 last year. The HQ 183 Ho Chi Minh City moored in the bay last month.

Russia is scheduled to hand over Vietnam the third vessel, the HQ 184 Hai Phong, in November.

The six diesel-electric submarines, which are considered improvements over the older Kilo-class, were bought under a US$2-billion deal signed during a visit by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Russia in 2009.

Under the contract, Russia will deliver all by 2016, train Vietnamese crews, and supply necessary spare parts.